Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer-songwriter, record producer and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music, and was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury was born in Zanzibar to Parsi parents from India. After growing up in Zanzibar and then India, his family moved to Middlesex, England, in his late teens. He formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "We Are the Champions". He also led a solo career and served as a producer and guest musician for other artists. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 due to complications from AIDS, having confirmed the day before his death that he had contracted the disease.

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946–24 November 1991)[2] was a British singer-songwriter, record producer and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music,[3] and was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octavevocal range.[4][5][3]

Mercury spent most of his childhood in India and began taking piano lessons at the age of seven.[14] In 1954, at the age of eight, Mercury was sent to study at St. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys, in Panchgani near Bombay.[13] At the age of 12, he formed a school band, the Hectics, and coveredrock and roll artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard.[15][16] One of Mercury's former bandmates from the Hectics has said "the only music he listened to, and played, was Western pop music."[17] A friend from the time recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano".[18] It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie". He also attended St. Mary's School, Mumbai.[19] In February 1963 he moved back to Zanzibar where he joined his parents at their flat.[20]

In 1964, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar to escape the revolution,[21] in which thousands of Arabs and Indians were killed.[22] They moved into a small house at 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham, Middlesex, England. After first studying art at Isleworth Polytechnic in West London, Mercury went on to study graphic art and design at Ealing Art College, graduating with a diploma in 1969.[2] He later used these skills to design heraldic arms for his band Queen.

Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in Kensington Market in London with girlfriend Mary Austin. He also held a job as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport.[23] Friends from the time remember him as a quiet and shy young man with a great interest in music.[24] In 1969 he joined the Liverpool-based band Ibex, later renamed Wreckage. He lived briefly in a flat above a Liverpool pub, The Dovedale Towers.[25][26] When this band failed to take off, he joined another called Sour Milk Sea, but by early 1970 this group had broken up as well.[27]

In April 1970, Mercury teamed up with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, to become lead singer of their band Smile.[2] They were joined by bassist John Deacon in 1971. Despite the reservations of the other members and Trident Studios, the band's initial management, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said, "It's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."[28] At about the same time, he changed his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury.[29] Shortly before the release of Queen's self-titled first album, Mercury designed the band's logo, known as the "Queen crest".[30] The logo combines the zodiac signs of the four band members: two lions for Deacon and Taylor (sign Leo), a crab for May (Cancer), and two fairies for Mercury (Virgo).[30] The lions embrace a stylised letter Q, the crab rests atop the letter with flames rising directly above it, and the fairies are each sheltering below a lion.[30] There is also a crown inside the Q and the whole logo is over-shadowed by an enormous phoenix. The Queen crest bears a passing resemblance to the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, particularly with the lion supporters.[30]

Career

Singer

Mercury's known vocal range

Although Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range.[31] His known vocal range extended from bass low F (F2) to soprano high F (F6).[32] He could belt up to tenor high F (F5).[32] Biographer David Bret described his voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches."[33] Spanish sopranoMontserrat Caballé, with whom Mercury recorded an album, expressed her opinion that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars was that he was selling the voice".[34] She adds,

His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sang with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word.[32]

Mercury performing in 1977

The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey called Mercury "the best virtuoso rock 'n' roll singer of all time. He could sing anything in any style. He could change his style from line to line and, God, that's an art. And he was brilliant at it."[35]

A research team undertook a study in 2016 to understand the appeal behind Mercury's voice.[36] Led by Professor Christian Herbst, the team identified his notably faster vibrato and use of subharmonics as unique characteristics of Mercury's voice, particularly in comparison to opera singers, and confirmed a vocal range from F#2 to G5 (just over 3 octaves) but were unable to confirm claims of a 4-octave range.[37] The research team studied vocal samples from 23 commercially available Queen recordings, his solo work, and a series of interviews of the late artist. They also used an endoscopic video camera to study a rock singer brought in to imitate Mercury's singing voice.[38][37]

The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of genres that he used, which included, among other styles, rockabilly, progressive rock, heavy metal, gospel, and disco. As he explained in a 1986 interview, "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things."[42] Compared to many popular songwriters, Mercury also tended to write musically complex material. For example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is non-cyclical in structure and comprises dozens of chords.[43][44] He also wrote six songs from Queen II which deal with multiple key changes and complex material. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", on the other hand, contains only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music.[45] He wrote most of his songs on the piano and used a wide variety of key signatures.[43]

Live performer

Mercury performing live in September 1984

Mercury was noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. A writer for The Spectator described him as "a performer out to tease, shock and ultimately charm his audience with various extravagant versions of himself."[46]David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, praised Mercury's performance style, saying: "Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest... he took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand."[47] Queen guitarist Brian May wrote that Mercury could make "the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected".[48] Mercury's main prop on stage was a broken microphone stand, which after accidentally snapping off the heavy base during an early performance, he realised could be used in endless ways.[49]

One of Mercury's most notable performances with Queen took place at Live Aid in 1985.[2] Queen's performance at the event has since been voted by a group of music executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. The results were aired on a television program called "The World's Greatest Gigs".[50][51] Mercury's powerful, sustained note during the a cappella section came to be known as "The Note Heard Round the World".[52][53] In reviewing Live Aid in 2005, one critic wrote, "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."[54]

Over the course of his career, Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts in countries around the world with Queen. A notable aspect of Queen concerts was the large scale involved.[42] He once explained, "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better."[42] The band was the first ever to play in South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo in 1981.[55] In 1986, Queen also played behind the Iron Curtain when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest, in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe.[56] Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on 9 August 1986 at Knebworth Park in England and drew an attendance estimated as high as 160,000.[57] With the British national anthem "God Save the Queen" playing at the end of the concert, Mercury's final act on stage saw him draped in a robe, holding a golden crown aloft, bidding farewell to the crowd.[58]

Instrumentalist

Mercury playing rhythm guitar during a live concert with Queen in Frankfurt, Germany, 1984

As a young boy in India, Mercury received formal piano training up to the age of nine. Later on, while living in London, he learned guitar. Much of the music he liked was guitar-oriented: his favourite artists at the time were the Who, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin. He was often self-deprecating about his skills on both instruments and from the early 1980s began extensively using guest keyboardists. Most notably, he enlisted Fred Mandel (a Canadian musician who also worked for Pink Floyd, Elton John, and Supertramp) for his first solo project. From 1982 Mercury collaborated with Morgan Fisher (performed with Queen in concert during the Hot Space leg),[59] and from 1985 onward Mercury collaborated with Mike Moran (in the studio) and Spike Edney (in concert).[60]

Solo career

In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury put out two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Music Charts. His first solo effort goes back to 1972 under the pseudonym Larry Lurex, when Trident Studios' house engineer Robin Geoffrey Cable was working in a musical project, at the time when Queen were recording their debut album; Cable enlisted Mercury to perform lead vocals on the songs "I Can Hear Music" and "Goin' Back", both were released together as a single in 1973.[1] Eleven years later, Mercury contributed to the Richard "Wolfie" Wolf remix of the song "Love Kills", used as the end title theme for National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. The song was originally recorded in 1984, when it was included on the soundtrack for the restoration of the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. First written by Giorgio Moroder in collaboration with Mercury, and produced by Moroder and Mack, "Love Kills" debuted at the number 10 position in the UK Singles Chart.[64] Mack also produced the 1987 single "Hold On" which Mercury recorded with actress Jo Dare for a German action drama Zabou.[65]

In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit "The Great Pretender" by the Platters, which debuted at No.5 in the UK in 1987.[64] In September 2006 a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the UK top 10.[73]

In 1981–1983 Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory", and "There Must Be More to Life Than This".[74][75] None of these collaborations were officially released at the time, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the single "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory.[76] Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his Mr. Bad Guy album.[77] "There Must Be More to Life Than This" was eventually reworked by Queen and released on their compilation album Queen Forever in 2014.[78]

In addition to working with Michael Jackson, Mercury and Roger Taylor sang on the title track for Billy Squier's 1982 studio release, Emotions in Motion and later contributed to two tracks on Squier's 1986 release, Enough Is Enough, providing vocals on "Love is the Hero" and musical arrangements on "Lady With a Tenor Sax".[79]

Personal life

Relationships

12 Stafford Terrace in Kensington, London, one of Mercury's former homes

In the early 1970s, Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he met through guitarist Brian May. He lived with Austin for several years in West Kensington, London. By the mid-1970s, he had begun an affair with a male American record executive at Elektra Records, and in December 1976, Mercury told Austin of his sexuality, which ended their romantic relationship.[60][80] Mercury moved out of the flat they shared, into 12 Stafford Terrace in Kensington and bought Austin a place of her own nearby.[60] They remained close friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me."[81] He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "Love of My Life".[82] Mercury's final home, Garden Lodge, 1 Logan Place, a twenty-eight room Georgian mansion in Kensington set in a quarter-acre manicured garden surrounded by a high brick wall, had been picked out by Austin.[83] Mercury was also the godfather of Austin's oldest son, Richard.[61]

During the early- to mid-1980s, he was reportedly involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian actress, who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life".[84][85] However, in another article, Valentin was "just a friend", and Mercury was really dating German restaurateur Winfried Kirchberger during this time.[86] By 1985, he began another long-term relationship with Irish-born hairdresser Jim Hutton (1949–2010).[87] Hutton, who was tested HIV-positive in 1990, lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, nursed him during his illness, and was present at his bedside when he died. Hutton said Mercury died wearing the wedding band that Hutton had given him.[88] In his will, Mercury left his London home to Austin, rather than Hutton, saying to her, "You would have been my wife, and it would have been yours anyway."[89]

Friendship with Kenny Everett

Radio DJ Kenny Everett first met Mercury in 1974 when he invited the singer onto his breakfast show on Capital London.[90] As two of Britain's most flamboyant, outrageous, and popular entertainers, they shared much in common and instantly became close friends.[90] Everett would play a major role in Queen's early success when, in 1975, armed with an advance copy of the single "Bohemian Rhapsody", Mercury went to see Everett.[83] While privately Everett doubted any station would play the song due to its length at over 6 minutes, he said nothing to Mercury and placed the song on the turntable, and, after hearing it, enthused: "forget it, it's going to be number one for centuries".[83] While Capital Radio had not officially accepted the song, the anarchic Everett would talk incessantly about a record he had but could not play, before the song "accidentally" started playing, with Everett stating: "Oops, my finger must've slipped."[83] Capital's switchboard was jammed with callers wanting to know when the song was going to be released – on one occasion Everett aired the song 36 times in one day.[90][91]

During the 1970s, their friendship became closer, with Everett becoming advisor and mentor to Mercury, and Mercury as Everett's confidante.[90] Throughout the early-to mid-1980s, they continued to explore their homosexuality, as well as experimenting in drugs, and although they were never lovers, they did experience London night life on a regular basis together.[90] By 1985, they had fallen out over a disagreement on their using and sharing of drugs, and their friendship was further strained when Everett was outed in the autobiography of his ex-wife "Lady Lee", with Mercury taking Lee's side.[90] With both suffering from failing health, Mercury and Everett started talking again in 1989, and they were able to reconcile their differences.[90]

Sexual orientation

While some commentators claimed Mercury hid his sexual orientation from the public,[21][34][92] others claimed he was "openly gay".[93][94] In December 1974, when asked directly, "So how about being bent?" by the New Musical Express, Mercury replied, "You're a crafty cow. Let's put it this way: there were times when I was young and green. It's a thing schoolboys go through. I've had my share of schoolboy pranks. I'm not going to elaborate further." Homosexual acts between adult males over the age of 21 had been decriminalised in the United Kingdom in 1967, only seven years earlier. In the 1980s, he would often distance himself from his partner, Jim Hutton, during public events.[88]

During his career, Mercury's flamboyant stage performances sometimes led journalists to allude to his sexuality. Dave Dickson, reviewing Queen's performance at Wembley Arena in 1984 for Kerrang!, noted Mercury's "camp" addresses to the audience and even described him as a "posing, pouting, posturing tart".[95] In 1992, John Marshall of Gay Times opined: "[Mercury] was a 'scene-queen,' not afraid to publicly express his gayness, but unwilling to analyse or justify his 'lifestyle'... It was as if Freddie Mercury was saying to the world, 'I am what I am. So what?' And that in itself for some was a statement."[96] In an article for AfterElton, Robert Urban stated: "Mercury did not ally himself to 'political outness,' or to LGBT causes."[96]

Some have claimed Mercury was bisexual; for example, in regard to the creation of Celebrate Bisexuality Day, Wendy Curry said: "We were sitting around at one of the annual bi conventions, venting and someone – I think it was Gigi – said we should have a party. We all loved the great bisexual, Freddie Mercury. His birthday was in September, so why not Sept? We wanted a weekend day to ensure the most people would do something. Gigi's birthday was Sept 23rd. It fell on a weekend day, so, poof! We had a day."[97][98] As well, The Advocate stated, "Closeted throughout his life, Mercury, who was bisexual, engaged in affairs with men but referred to a woman he loved in his youth, Mary Austin, as "the love of his life," according to the biography Somebody to Love: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Freddie Mercury."[99]

Personality

Although he cultivated a flamboyant stage personality, Mercury was shy and retiring when not performing, particularly around people he did not know well,[18][34][100] and granted very few interviews. Mercury once said of himself: "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."[101] While on stage, Mercury basked in the love from his audience; Kurt Cobain's suicide note mentions how he admired and envied the way Mercury "seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd".[102][103]

In 1987, Mercury celebrated his 41st birthday at the Pikes Hotel, Ibiza, several months after discovering that he had contracted HIV.[104] Mercury sought much comfort at the retreat and was a close friend of the owner, Anthony Pike, who described Mercury as "the most beautiful person I've ever met in my life. So entertaining and generous."[105]
According to biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, Mercury "felt very much at home there. He played some tennis, lounged by the pool, and ventured out to the odd gay club or bar at night."[106] The party, held on 5 September 1987, has been described as "the most incredible example of excess the Mediterranean island had ever seen", and was attended by some 700 people.[107] A cake in the shape of Gaudi's Sagrada Família was provided for the party, although the original cake collapsed and was replaced with a 2-metre-long sponge cake with the notes from Mercury's song "Barcelona".[105] The bill, which included 232 broken glasses, was presented to Queen's manager, Jim Beach.[108]

Illness

Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, Queen's recording studio from 1978 to 1995. Mercury recorded his final vocals here in May 1991. In December 2013, the studio was opened free as the "Queen Studio Experience", with fans asked for a donation to the Mercury Phoenix Trust charity.[109]

According to his partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in late April 1987.[110] Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative for HIV.[34] In October 1986, the British press reported that Mercury had his blood tested for HIV/AIDS at a Harley Street clinic. A reporter for The Sun, Hugh Whittow, questioned Mercury about the story at Heathrow Airport as he was returning from Japan. Mercury denied he had the disease.[111]

The British press pursued the rumours over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance, Queen's absence from touring, and reports from former lovers to tabloid journals. By 1990, rumours about Mercury's health were rife.[112] At the 1990 Brit Awards held at the Dominion Theatre, London, on 18 February, a visibly frail Mercury made his final appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[113][114] Towards the end of his life, he was routinely stalked by photographers. The Sun featured a series of articles claiming that he was ill; a front page from November 1990 featured an image of a haggard Mercury with the headline "It's official – Freddie is seriously ill".[108]

Mercury and his inner circle of colleagues and friends continually denied the stories.[115] It has been suggested that Mercury could have helped AIDS awareness by speaking earlier about his illness.[116][117] Mercury kept his condition private to protect those closest to him; May later confirmed that Mercury had informed the band of his illness much earlier.[118][119] Filmed in May 1991, the music video for "These Are the Days of Our Lives" features a very thin Mercury in his final scenes in front of the camera.[120] The rest of the band were ready to record when Mercury felt able to come into the studio, for an hour or two at a time. May said of Mercury: "He just kept saying. 'Write me more. Write me stuff. I want to just sing this and do it and when I am gone you can finish it off.' He had no fear, really."[109] Justin Shirley-Smith, the assistant engineer for those last sessions, said: "This is hard to explain to people, but it wasn't sad, it was very happy. He [Freddie] was one of the funniest people I ever encountered. I was laughing most of the time, with him. Freddie was saying [of his illness] 'I'm not going to think about it, I'm going to do this.'[109]

After the conclusion of his work with Queen in June 1991, Mercury retired to his home in Kensington, west London. His former partner, Mary Austin, was a particular comfort in his final years, and in the last few weeks made regular visits to look after him.[121] Near the end of his life, Mercury began to lose his sight, and deteriorated to the point where he could not get out of bed.[121] Mercury decided to hasten his death by refusing medication and continued taking only painkillers.[121] On 22 November 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach to his Kensington home to prepare a public statement, which was released the following day:[118]

Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.

Death

On the evening of 24 November 1991, just over 24 hours after issuing the statement, Mercury died at the age of 45 at his home in Kensington.[122] The cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.[123] Mercury's close friend Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five had taken over the bedside vigil when he died. Austin phoned Mercury's parents and sister to break the news, which reached newspaper and television crews in the early hours of 25 November.[124]

The outer walls of Mercury's final home, Garden Lodge, 1 Logan Place, west London, became a shrine to the late singer.

Mercury bequeathed the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He left £500,000 to his chef, Joe Fanelli; £500,000 to his personal assistant, Peter Freestone; £100,000 to his driver, Terry Giddings; and £500,000 to Jim Hutton.[129] Austin continues to live at Mercury's former home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family.[129]

The outer walls of Garden Lodge in 1 Logan Place became a shrine to Mercury, with mourners paying tribute by covering the walls in graffiti messages.[130] Three years after his death, Time Out magazine reported that "the wall outside the house has become London's biggest rock 'n' roll shrine".[130] Fans continue to visit to pay their respects with letters appearing on the walls.[131] Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story, and also gave an interview for The Times in November 2006 for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.[110]

Legacy

Continued popularity

A wax sculpture of Freddie Mercury at Madame Tussauds, Amsterdam. Wearing his yellow military jacket (from his 1986 concerts), GQ called it his best known look.[132]

The extent to which Mercury's death may have enhanced Queen's popularity is not clear. In the United States, where Queen's popularity had lagged in the 1980s, sales of Queen albums went up dramatically in 1992, the year following his death.[133] In 1992, one American critic noted, "What cynics call the 'dead star' factor had come into play—Queen is in the middle of a major resurgence."[134] The movie Wayne's World, which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", also came out in 1992.[135] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Queen had sold 34.5million albums in the United States by 2004, about half of which had been sold since Mercury's death in 1991.[136]

Posthumous Queen album

In November 1995, Mercury appeared posthumously on Queen's final album Made in Heaven.[2] The album featured Mercury's previously unreleased final recordings from 1991, as well as outtakes from previous years and reworked versions of solo works by the surviving members.[148] The album cover features the Freddie Mercury statue that overlooks Lake Geneva superimposed with Mercury's Duck House lake cabin that he had rented. This is where he had written and recorded his last songs at Mountain Studios.[148] The sleeve of the album contains the words, "Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury."[148]

Featuring tracks such as "Too Much Love Will Kill You" and "Heaven for Everyone", the album also contains the song "Mother Love", the last vocal recording Mercury made prior to his death, which he completed using a drum machine, over which May, Taylor, and Deacon later added the instrumental track.[149] After completing the penultimate verse, Mercury had told the band he "wasn't feeling that great" and stated, "I will finish it when I come back, next time”. However, he never made it back into the studio, so May later recorded the final verse of the song.[109]

Tributes

A statue in Montreux, Switzerland, by sculptor Irena Sedlecká, was erected as a tribute to Mercury.[150] It stands almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Mercury's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.[151] Beginning in 2003 fans from around the world have gathered in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on the first weekend of September. The Bearpark And Esh Colliery Band played at the Freddie Mercury statue on 1 June 2010.[152]

In 1997 the three remaining members of Queen released "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)", a song dedicated to Mercury and all those that die too soon.[153] In 1999 a Royal Mail stamp with an image of Mercury on stage was issued in his honour as part of the UK postal service's Millennium Stamp series.[154][155] In 2009 a star commemorating Mercury was unveiled in Feltham, west London where his family moved upon arriving in England in 1964. The star in memory of Mercury's achievements was unveiled on Feltham High Street by his mother Jer Bulsara and Queen bandmate May.[156]

For Mercury's 65th birthday in 2011, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. It included an animation set to the Mercury penned song, "Don't Stop Me Now".[160] Referring to "the late, great Freddie Mercury" in their 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech, Guns N' Roses quoted Mercury's lyrics from his song "We Are the Champions"; "I've taken my bows, my curtain calls, you've brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it, and I thank you all."[161][162]

The frog genus Mercurana, discovered in 2013 in Kerala, India, was named as a tribute because Mercury's "vibrant music inspires the authors". In addition, the site of the discovery is very near to where Mercury spent most of his childhood.[165] A new species of damselfly from Brazil was named Heteragrion freddiemercuryi in his honour, with the etymology: "I name this species after Freddie Mercury, artistic name of Farrokh Bulsara (1946–1991), superb and gifted musician and songwriter whose wonderful voice and talent still entertain millions of people around the world."[166]

On 1 September 2016, an English Heritageblue plaque was unveiled at Mercury's home in 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, west London by his sister Kashmira Cooke and Brian May.[167] Attending the ceremony, Karen Bradley, the UK Secretary of State for Culture, called Mercury "one of Britain's most influential musicians", and added he "is a global icon whose music touched the lives of millions of people around the world".[168] On 5 September 2016, the 70th anniversary of Mercury's birth, asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury was named after him.[169] Issuing the certificate of designation to the "charismatic singer", Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute added: "Freddie Mercury sang, 'I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky' - and now that is even more true than ever before."[169]

Appearances in lists of influential individuals

Several popularity polls conducted over the past decade indicate that Freddie Mercury's reputation may, in fact, have been enhanced since his death. For instance, in a 2002 vote to determine who the UK public considers the greatest British people in history, Mercury was ranked 58 in the list of the 100 Greatest Britons, broadcast by the BBC.[176] He was further listed at the 52nd spot in a 2007 Japanese national survey of the 100 most influential heroes.[177] Despite the fact that he had been criticised by gay activists for hiding his HIV status, author Paul Russell included Mercury in his book The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present.[178] In 2008 Rolling Stone ranked Mercury 18 on its list of the Top 100 Singers Of All Time.[3] Mercury was voted the greatest male singer in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music.[93] In 2011 a Rolling Stone readers' pick placed Mercury in second place of the magazine's Best Lead Singers of All Time.[102]

In 2016 a musical titled Royal Vauxhall premiered at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in Vauxhall, London. Written by Desmond O'Connor, the musical told the alleged tales of the nights that Mercury, Kenny Everett and Princess Diana spent out at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London in the 1980s.[183] Following several successful runs in London, the musical was taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2016 starring Tom Giles as Mercury.[183]

Portrayal in film and television

Mural promoting the release of Bohemian Rhapsody on the side of Mercury's former art college in west London in October 2018.

Mercury appeared as a supporting character in the BBC television drama Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story, first broadcast in October 2012. He was portrayed by actor James Floyd.[188]

He was played by actor John Blunt in The Freddie Mercury Story: Who Wants to Live Forever, first broadcast in the UK on Channel 5 in November 2016. Although the programme was criticised for focusing on Mercury's love life and sexuality, Blunt's performance and likeness to the singer did receive praise.[189]

He was also portrayed by Eric McCormack (as the character Will Truman) on Will & Grace in the October 2018 episode titled "Tex and the City". Will once wanted to be Freddie Mercury in a talent show when he was little, but his mother forbade it leading to Will dressing as Mercury at the end of Jack's grandson's talent show in Texas.[193]

Discography

Notes

↑ The Bulsara family gets its name from Bulsar, a city and district that is now in the Indian state of Gujarat and is today officially known as Valsad. In the 17th century, Bulsar was one of the five centres of the Zoroastrian religion (the other four were also in what is today Gujarat) and consequently "Bulsara" is a relatively common name amongst Parsi Zoroastrians.

↑ On Mercury's birth certificate,[9] his parents defined themselves with "Nationality: British Indian" and "Race: Parsi". The Parsis are an ethnic group of Persian origin and have lived on the Indian Subcontinent for over a thousand years.